Sleepless in New York

New York City, the city that never sleeps, will be packed full by the end of this week with hardly any hotel room available with the UN general assembly summit about to open.  Aside from the heavy agenda, the 192-nation general assembly will be loaded with so many delegates that will include some 150 heads of state like PNoy. Add to that other officials, their staff and the usual kibitzers. According to the latest travel info, New York hotel rooms are one of the most expensive in the whole world (after Capri, a small Italian island and Geneva in Switzerland), with rates having gone up dramatically after a slump in 2007. Even a tiny room in chain hotels like the Marriott are now going for as much as $500 a night – so those Pinoy kibitzers who are going there only to be seen might just very well end up without a room and will be sleepless in New York.

 Home alone at 7p.m. 

The instructions to the Philippine Embassy coordinators in New York were made clear: no appointments for PNoy after 7 p.m. Why this is so was not made very clear. Nonetheless, with those marching orders all the appointments of the President will have to be squeezed in to the more or less six-hour day schedules for the duration of the visit. Among those who had to scramble for an appointment were the Chairman of JPMorgan and the US State Department arranging for the Millennium Challenge signing ceremony for the $434 million assistance package for the Philippines. According to our sources, no time and date have yet been finalized as of this writing. The only schedule that is definite so far is that PNoy wants to be home in his hotel by 7 p.m.

Why a Fil-Am can’t be US President

One of our Filipino-American friends from New York sent us this supposed Top 10 segment blurb of the popular TV show “Late Night with David Letterman” where David lists down the Top 10 reasons why a Filipino-American could never occupy the White House. Those familiar with the Late Night show host know how his jokes can be funny but often acerbic. There’s no clear evidence however that this segment was ever aired at all. But just the same we thought of sharing it with you.

According to surveys, here are the Top 10 reasons why a Filipino-American can’t be President:

10. The White House is not big enough for in-laws and extended relatives;

9. There are not enough parking spaces at the White House for two Honda Civics, two Toyota Land Cruisers, three Toyota Corollas, a Mercedes Benz, a BMW, and an MPV (My Pinoy Van);

8. Dignitaries generally are intimidated by eating with their fingers at State dinners;

7. There are too many dining rooms in the White House – so where will they put the picture of the Last Supper?

6. The White House walls are not big enough to hold a pair of giant wooden spoon and fork;

5. Secret Service staff won’t respond to “Psst...” or “Hoy!”;

4. Secret Service staff will not be comfortable driving the presidential car with a Holy Rosary hanging on the rear view mirror, or the statue of the Santo Niño on the dashboard;

3. No budget allocation to purchase a Karaoke music-machine for every room in the White House;

2. State dinners do not allow “take home.”

And the Number 1 reason why there couldn’t be a Filipino-American US president is – Air Force One does not allow over-weight Balikbayan boxes!

Spy tidbits

• A top executive of a conglomerate fired by the tycoon-owner is being appointed as a board member of the GSIS. The executive’s only qualification: He’s close to a top Cabinet official.

• Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona told us he is looking forward to a meeting with PNoy to discuss the all-important budget for the judiciary. So far though, he has not yet received the call from the Palace.

• Nivat Chantarachoti, the very popular bachelor Manager of Thai Airways in the Philippines, is being transferred to Zurich where he will take his new post as the head of the airline for Switzerland in mid-October. The amiable Nivat is very popular with many local people particularly from the airline and travel industry as well as the diplomatic and publishing world.

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